The One after my Heart

Kyra recalled their earlier conversation earlier and asked Nisa," You mean that thing which Old Barlow used to hoodwink you?"

"Yes! Hahahaha... the heavens definitely love this princess after all", said Nisa aloud with a laugh with her hands on her hips looking at the sky. She then turned around as she lifted Little Maya from the ground and started to spin around in circles.

Maya's squealing joys of laughter and screams spread all around as her arms were raised up in the air, and she kept shouting out," Moe moe moe!"

Kyra stood there as she looked at this adorable duo with a bemused expression.

After a while, Nisa stopped as she got dizzy and sat down on the ground as she recovered from all the spinning. She turned to look at Kyra, who now sat down on a flat rock in front of her, with Maya in her arms. "You know what this means? If I manage to take it back home, Mother will definitely not punish me." Nisa grinned.

"Let's hurry. According to what Chirpy said it shouldn't be far away from here.", said Nisa as she got up hurriedly to her feet and dusted her clothes.

The three took off in search of the Kitthale tree. After walking for about 20 minutes, they felt a strange mist appear all around them, that nearly blinded their vision further, yet somehow Nisa navigated her way through and soon with her directions the three managed to arrive in front of a gigantic tree. It was as wide as though even ten men standing around it in a circle would have trouble joining hands. The tree was more than a hundred meters tall, its branches thicker than a human adults waist as it spread out magnificently.

The leaves were lustrous dark green, portraying the tree's vitality. Oddly there weren't any flowers or even fruits visible on the tree. What was even odd was that despite a forest breeze brushing past it, not even a single leaf or branch shook or was ruffled. It seemed fixed and still as though it weren't natural but designed artificially.

"Are you sure this is the one? It doesn't seem to have any fruits or even flowers on its branches.", asked Kyra as she looked at a beaming Nisa who stood in front of her.

"Of course this is the Kitthale tree! It's no ordinary tree after all. It only bears a few Kitthale fruits once in every ten or twenty years! We got lucky and have come at the right time to harvest them."

Upon seeing Kyra's confused expression, Nisa pointed at a groove in the centre of the tree which Kyra had seen earlier. It seemed more like a small opening that squirrels or other creatures should have made. The groove was up at the height of more than six feet from the ground.

"You mean the Kitthale fruits are in there?" asked Kyra with a stunned look on her face. How bizarre?!

Nisa nodded with a serious look on her face. "Alright, let me see what can be done." She went ahead and touched the tree with her eyes closed as she leaned her forehead against it.

Kyra didn't want to disturb her hence curiously, she went around the huge tree that was a wide as ten people in a circle. 'Such a huge tree. I've never seen any tree such as this until today.', marvelled Kyra.

She felt its earthy coloured trunk with her bare hands. Maya followed her and and did the the same feeling the bark on the tree curiously.

At the next moment, the gigantic tree started to rumble silently, vibrating as though an earthquake of small magnitude struck from underneath for a few seconds before it went still.

Kyra was startled and pulled back her hand immediately. Meanwhile on the other side, Nisa opened her eyes with a surprised look.

"Alright, I've communicated with the tree. It has graciously agreed to give up on four Kitthale fruits!" Nisa said with a big smile.

"Agreed to give up? Can't one just pluck them as just as any other fruit?" asked Kyra with a perplexed look on her face.

Nisa looked as though she were taken back at this question as though one asked a vegan to have meat. She vehemently shook her head furiously. "No, it doesn't work that way. This is a spiritual tree with a sentience of its own. We've to respect its wishes and will as well."

"The moment the tree senses an intruder trying to forcefully harvest its fruit, it will instantly sap the vitality as well as spiritual magic from the Kitthale fruit, rendering it useless. Although other witches like those of wood, earth or water elements have a chance at communicating and harvesting the Kitthale fruit, it's us Spirit witches who succeed with a hundred per cent success every time. It's our speciality obviously."

"This is why the Kitthale is a rare fruit and extremely precious. Even ordinary folks could use it to save themselves from a life-threatening injury!"

Kyra nodded as she understood the explanation. 'Was it so miraculous as Nisa claimed it was? she wondered to herself.

She saw the groove and calculated it was a little higher than she could reach up to. There were no small stones around that she could use to climb upon to reach higher.

"Let's do this. Nisa, you stand on my shoulders and get them out." Saying, so Kyra went over towards the tree and crouched down for Nisa to climb up. "Not now Maya, you can climb later", she persuaded the little one who ran over and hugged her knees with an expectant look.

Nisa nodded as she went over and climbed on Kyra's shoulders. Kyra laid her hand on the tree ahead, facing it to get a steady hold, while a jittery shaky Nisa somehow managed to hoist herself up.

Maya looked up at the tree as she pointed towards it, pulling on Kyra as she said," Tree shake..shake."

"Not now Maya, stand a little away or you'll get hurt", chastised the teenage sister in an impatient tone.

Little Maya, who was reprimanded, put on a disappointed face and stamped her foot in disappointment as she backed a little away but didn't stop staring at the tree's branches.

The two were so busy engrossed with their task just now, as they tried to stable themselves, that they had failed to notice something that only Maya happened to see.

It at the moment when Kyra had just laid her hands on the tree that the gigantic unshakable tree shook its branches violently for about three breaths as though a cold shiver ran from the roots through its bark.

"Almost there. Hold steady", said Nisa as she stretched out her right hand and put it inside the groove. She pulled out a yellow coloured fruit that seemed not any bigger than a plum. "Got it! Maya catch! Don't drop them!"

Maya immediately scurried over as she stretched out her hand in a bowl shape and caught them one by one without fail carefully.

Nisa got down from Kyra's shoulders with a sweaty yet beaming face. She held the four Kitthale's in wonder. Kyra took one to have a closer look at.

These yellow plum-shaped fruits looked no bigger than a baby's tiny fist or the size just bigger than that of a grape. The marble-sized body seemed almost transparent when held in the light where one could see past its outer skin and see the faint sparkling texture and flesh within.

It seemed almost impossible for them not to immediately take a bite out of this delicious-looking candy. Little Maya's mouth even had a small drool coming out as she looked hypnotized over it. But the child sure had a strong will as she restrained herself after seeing Nisa shaking ahead at her. Though she had a pout on her adorable face afterwards,

"I'm sorry sister Kyra, but these are way too precious for even us to eat. I'll be sure to compensate you once we get back I promise!"

Kyra nodded as she handed back the fruit over in reluctance. Oh, how tempted she was to take a bite of the sparkling yellow fruit herself. Especially after eating the wild raspberries, she'd gotten a strange likeness towards anything similar to it.

"Here Maya, keep it in the pockets of Kyra's you're wearing. It's best if nobody sees it on my hands." Nisa handed the three fruits to Maya, who obediently stuffed them into the red plush jacket.

"Too late", came a sneering voice from behind.

'Dodge!'

Kyra didn't know if it was intuition, but she immediately jumped towards the side and then immediately turned around to look at the person who spoke.

It was a middle-aged man who seemed to be in his forties as he wore long luxurious clothes that consisted of a dark green vest. His moustache was neatly trimmed and he seemed like a person of importance just from his appearance, though right now he wore a cold expression on his face.

The moustached man had his right hands stretched out In the air that seemed covered by his long robes. But instead of his palm that came out, three branch-like protrusions outstretched from his hand where his wrist was, as though he were like an octopus.

The branches that stretched out from his arms like a whip had their ends like that of a spear. It stretched out all the way up to where they were as long ropes. Kyra noticed one of the spears had just pierced next to her on the ground where she had just previously stood.

"Sis-sister Kyra", came a weak voice from Kyra's side.

Kyra was jolted as she remembered the two girls next to her and whipped her head to find one of the outstretched whip-like spears pierce Nisa's abdomen going through her body.

Nisa stood there with a stunned reaction and a bitter smile clutching her stomach as blood dripped out of her mouth.

"It seems our adventure has come to an end..hehe..cough cough", Nisa coughed out blood as she fell on the ground as she collapsed, with her breathing that grew fainter by every second.

On the other side was Maya, as she laid on her side with her back facing Kyra. The third of the whip-like spears seemed to have struck her as well as it stretched out from the man all the way towards her chest. Her body was deathly still and unmoving.

Kyra's blood drained out of her face as she stood there, taking in everything.